For the first time since the 1996-1997 season, the San Antonio Spurs won’t be in the NBA playoffs.
It’s also the first sub-.500 season for head coach Gregg Popovich since 1996-1997.
The Spurs were officially eliminated after the Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in their final “seeding games” today.
The Spurs needed either the Suns or Grizzlies to lose to have any chance of getting into the Western Conference play-in game.
With the Spurs’ streak over, the Houston Rockets now have the NBA’s longest active playoff streak at eight straight years (2013 through 2020).
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Spurs roster in the offseason, as they have some young players who got a chance to play more in the NBA restart.
“At this point, it’s been a huge success for our team and our young players, the development that we’ve talked about from the beginning,” Popovich previously said. “We’re very happy with what’s gone on here.”
Players like Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl looked good in the “bubble” and could prove to be key pieces of the Spurs’ future.
